Samsung Electronics reportedly invested 5 billion won ($4.4 million) in South Korea’s first-generation social networking service Cyworld as part of efforts to enhance its artificial intelligence business, according to the company on Tuesday.

The company confirmed Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, an affiliate on startup investment, recently made an investment in Cyworld, although it declined to reveal the exact amount of the investment. 
 

According to media reports here, the Samsung investment is estimated at around 5 billion won. This is the first time that Samsung has invested in an online platform.

Industry sources assume that Samsung would tap into Cyworld’s data resources accumulated for nearly about two decades and link with the platform’s music streaming and news delivery services with its AI program Bixby.

PC-based Cyworld, so-called “mini-hompi” in the early 2000s, was one of the most popular SNS platforms in Korea, before losing grounds to mobile-focused Facebook in 2011.

Formerly operated by SK Communications, Cyworld was later acquired by video communication firm AIRE in 2016.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)